Red Wings alumni ‘beat’ NTDP U17 Team in Tuesday night charity game (with photos)
By @MichaelCaples –
PLYMOUTH – As Larry Murphy pointed out, the Detroit Red Wings’ Alumni Association squad is used to playing against teams made up of local policemen or firefighters.
Last night, they ran into a team with a slightly more impressive skill set.
The Wings’ alumni team took on USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-17 Team yesterday at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, pitting the likes of Murphy, Darren McCarty and Mickey Redmond against some of the most talented youngsters in the country.
The team sporting the winged wheel jerseys won 8-4, but both sides will tell you that the youngsters scaled back their effort in the charity game to raise money for the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band.
“Well fortunately they took it easy on us, especially the first half of the game,” said Murphy, an NHL veteran of 1,615 games. “It picked up a bit, but they were still very cautious, we didn’t see their best, but we got a flavor of how well they skate, how well they move the puck. Obviously they’re here for a reason, they’re extremely talented kids. It was exciting to get out there, try your best to not let them get around you – it was a bit of a struggle. I’m glad we did it, I really enjoyed playing against them.”
The game, dubbed ‘Pucks for Pasadena,’ raised money for the PCMB’s trip to California, so that they could participate in the 127th Tournament of Roses Parade. As the NTDP still settles into their new home in Plymouth, the event served as not only a way for the team to support their local high school, but also a chance for them to connect with new fans.
“It was fun,” said NTDP U17 Team head coach Don Granato. “We had Plymouth Township’s supervisor on the bench with us, Shannon Price, and it was fun to converse with him throughout the game. It was fun for him to see the kids and get to know a little bit of what we’re about as an organization, and certainly a great atmosphere with the crowd and these guys wearing red was pretty neat.”
For the NTDP U17 players – especially the ones born in Michigan – the game was a special experience.
“It was awesome,” said Josh Norris, an Oxford native. “To be able to share the ice with those guys, Mickey Redmond, I listen to him every game with the Wings, and McCarty and all those guys, it was pretty cool to be able to play against those guys and see how they are. It was definitely cool.”
“You never really expect to do that growing up,” said Logan Cockerill, a Brighton native. “You look up to them as role models. You still see Mickey on the TV all the time, so it was pretty cool.”
For longtime Red Wings fan favorite Darren McCarty, it was a game he and his teammates both looked forward to, and feared, due to who they knew they would be playing against.
“This is one of those games that we did not look forward to,” McCarty said. “We looked forward to seeing the up-and-coming young talent and obviously with the USA Hockey program here, they’ve done a phenomenal job. Anybody can look down the road to Joe Louis Arena and see Dylan Larkin, who came out of this program, so they do a lot of great things. It was fun to get out there. It’s amazing, the size of these kids these days. To a man, and you know, Granato starts off the first shift with their goon (Sean Dhooghe) against me. He might be 5-foot-2, but he’s smooth, a little fireball. It was fun – it was fun to get out there. We might have the mental side, but obviously the physical isn’t there. It’s always fun to get out, and it was nice of them to take it easy on us.”
Redmond, a longtime Red Wing and current TV personality on Fox Sports Detroit, left the USA Hockey Arena ice impressed with the ‘Hockey IQ’ of his competition.
“Yes, very much so,” Redmond said when asked if he was impressed. “I’m sure they were paying attention. They learned some things tonight, like young guys usually do, but I was very impressed with their thought process of coming late, looking for the late man, drop passes, getting in the hole, guy playing without the puck, being the important man getting open to get a pass, giving the puck carrier an option, and making plays like that. Very impressive to watch them – obviously they’re well coached in that part of the game. It was very nice to see.”
Redmond admitted that he wanted to see the U17 Team ‘turn it up a notch’ however.
“I’m not quite sure how far back they dialed it,” he joked. “I went over to their bench at one point and said alright boys, time to dial it up, let’s see what you’ve got, but they never did. A little bit, which was good, but some pretty good young hockey players there, really good to watch.”
The U17s will get back to game form when they return to USHL action this weekend in Bloomington, Ind. The Wings alumni are excited to see how far their hockey careers will go from there.
“I think we’re going to keep an eye on them and I’m sure some of them will make it all the way, the National Hockey League, and we’ll say ‘hey, I played against that guy,’ so it’ll be a feather in our cap someday,” Murphy said. “It’s different for the alumni, usually we’re playing policemen, firemen, so to play a group like that is definitely welcomed and we really enjoyed it.
“We’re thankful that they didn’t pour it on 100 percent, otherwise we would be in big trouble. I’ll have to go down to their dressing room and thank them for that one.”